Croatian players like Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, and
Mario Mandžukić have all impressed at the tournament in Russia,
but some of the team may be suffering burnout.

Croatia has been forced to play more soccer than
England, it has older players, and recovery may be an issue
ahead of this evening's encounter.

Croatia defender Dejan Lovren also has a poor history
when it comes to handling World Cup top scorer Harry Kane, as
the pair have gone head-to-head in the Premier League - a
battle Kane resoundingly won.

With key advantages favouring England, Gareth
Southgate's men may well be poised to teach Croatia an historic
lesson.

English sailors helped popularise the sport in Croatia over the
decades that followed, in seaside cities like Zadar, Trogir, and
Split. English engineers then helped push soccer further into the
country and professional soccer clubs began to form. Eventually,
a league was founded and a set of rules was needed. So, Croatians
naturally turned to the English Football Association, the oldest
FA on the planet, to establish the laws that helped the game gain
structure.

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A lot has happened between that first recorded soccer game in
Croatia and today. But 145 years after that random game in
Rijeka, the Croatia national team is set to embark on its most
significant match in its history - a crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup semifinal at the
Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The team is just one game away from a
momentous World Cup final.

But Croatia is set to face England - and the English may well be
poised to teach them yet another valuable lesson in soccer.

caption

Luka Modrić.

source

Getty Images

This is because England has three massive advantages heading into
the Croatia clash - and these could all be key in determining
which team progresses to Sunday's final.

1. Croatia's key players are the wrong side of
30.

Croatia's three top-performing attacking players, Luka Modrić
(32), Ivan Rakitić (30), and Mario Mandžukić (32), are all the
wrong side of 30.

This would not normally be an issue. Not when they have the
talent that they clearly posses. But matches are coming around
thick and fast (every four days), Croatia has been dragged into
extra-time and sudden-death penalty shootouts in both of its
knockout matches, and has not won a game in normal time since the
group stage.

England, in contrast, is the youngest team left in the tournament
and its key players, Harry Kane (24), Kieran Trippier (27), and
Harry Maguire (25), are collectively younger than Croatia's and
should, in theory, be able to handle the rigours of tournament
soccer better than their older opponents.

2. Croatia has been forced to play more.

Croatia was dragged into extra time in both of its knockout
matches, and it has not won a game in normal time since the group
stage of the competition.

On Saturday, England confidently and efficiently dispatched of
Sweden by a 2-0 score in 90 minutes. Later that day, Croatia had
to play an energy-sapping 120 minutes of soccer against Russia.
England was able to get in the ice baths and begin the recovery
process earlier in the day, while Croatia will have been forced
to nurse exhausted players deep into the night, and through the
days that followed.

Influential defender Šime Vrsaljko was subbed out of the game
because of injury, goalkeeper Danijel Subašić appeared to
struggle with a hamstring problem, and Mandžukić looked
knackered. Indeed, Vrsaljko, Subašić, and defender Dejan Lovren
all missed a training session on Monday, according to the Mirror, so
the stresses and strains of competing in additional soccer are,
here at least, clear.

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalić even admitted that the team's route to
the semifinal "has taken it's toll." According to The Guardian,
Dalić said: "We've played five difficult games, they've taken
their toll. We're tired but there can be no excuses."

He did, however, hasten to add: "We've come to the semi-final.
We're here to play football, enjoy ourselves and give our all. We
do not want to say we are fatigued. We have not been exhausted.
There is still opportunity for us to exhaust ourselves."

caption

Harry Kane.

source

Getty Images

3. Harry Kane is Dejan Lovren's boogie man.

Being younger as a unit, and playing less football, are two
advantages England has for Wednesday's game.

But there is also a third - if Lovren is fit to feature, he may
wobble at the thought of having to deal with Kane, England's
captain, striker, and the tournament's top goalscorer with six
goals so far.

Lovren plays his club-level soccer at Premier League team
Liverpool FC and is therefore no stranger to the Tottenham
Hotspur hitman Kane. Last season, Kane showed Lovren what may lie
in store on Wednesday when Spurs smashed Liverpool by a 4-1 score
in October and at the heart of Tottenham's win, was a key battle
between Kane and Lovren - one that Kane won and Lovren lost.

Kane scored twice, set up Heung-Min Son's goal, and witnessed
England teammate Dele Alli get in on the action. At the heart of
Tottenham's intricate passing and movement was Trippier, another
player who has proven to be formidable at the World Cup.

Kane and Trippier embarrassed Lovren so bad he was hurled off the
pitch on the hour mark.

When Croatia defender Lovren was asked about that game earlier
this week, he raised his hackles and barked back. According to The Guardian, he
said: "It's completely irrelevant… you are just nitpicking my
poor performances." But also conceded that Kane is "one of
the best strikers in the Premier League. He is constant. He bangs
in goals. He's one of the greatest threats."

Yes, England has the advantages and, no matter what happens, the
result will live long in each country's sporting history - as
long, perhaps, as that random English game in the Croatian town
of Rijeka, 145 years ago.